The Pumpkin Spice Fall Anime Season Finale! - Renegade Animation #42
Previously on Renegade Animation: Captain Kaye and the Animation Guru recruited Haley and Teresa to give their impressions of the fall 2021 anime season… And now? The thrilling conclusion!
How’s it going fellow Renegades? It’s been a long time since the last podcast, but we’ve got quite the week ahead for you! For the next few days, we’ve got a bunch of episodes of podcasts and even a review or two ahead of you coming just in time for the holidays!
Speaking of the holidays… we’ve also got the THRILLING CONCLUSION to the Pumpkin Spice Fall Anime Season! You’ll hear what was too hot for the first part (mostly because there was WAY TOO MUCH to talk about in the first parter).
Will Cam rage at some anime? Is there some best of the best in the works overseas? What series will Mike love?! I’d tune in to find out!
Well, lemme go ahead and kick it over to the Captain himself!
TESLA NOTE (Funimation)
Mike’s thoughts (3 eps deep): The thing about CG animation on television, especially in Japan, is that there has to be a justifiable reason to use it within the narrative. Because if there isn’t, you get Tesla Note, an anime so distractingly awful that anything even remotely interesting with its premise gets squandered by some of the worst character animation I’ve seen since Ex-Arm. On top of that, the male lead absolutely did not need to be this much of a sexist asshole, making it almost impossible to root for him, while Botan Negoro is a pretty standard action heroine with a bad case of arrested development. This show sucks, which makes me wonder whether or not the manga was any better.
AMAIM: WARRIOR AT THE BORDERLINE (Funimation)
Mike’s thoughts (4 eps deep): Boy do I feel conflicted about this one. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m an easy mark when it comes to mecha anime, and I thought after the first two episodes that I would really like this AMAIM: Warrior at the Borderline. I still generally enjoyed the episodes that I watched, but there’s something about the premise that’s making it difficult to LOVE the same way I fell for some of the classics of the genre. Is it because the “heroes” are terrorists, or is it that the stakes are not all that well defined? I may continue later down the road, but for now, episode 4 is a solid exit.
ANCIENT GIRL’S FRAME (Funimation)
Mike’s thoughts (3 eps deep): You know an anime has you hooked when you want to keep watching, but can’t because of time. To be fair, I didn’t think this would be my reaction to Ancient Girl’s Frame until I hit the third episode, but before that I was at least interested enough in this premise. Mecha is a genre that’s hard to screw up, because it’s filled with a lot of familiar tropes, but the best ones find a way to stand out from the crowd. This isn’t one of the best, but it does have potential, and I’d love to see where things go from here.
THE FRUIT OF EVOLUTION: BEFORE I KNEW IT MY LIFE HAD IT MADE (Crunchyroll)
Mike’s thoughts (3 eps deep): You know, anime doesn’t HAVE to be bad, does it? Or rather, studios don’t HAVE to adapt every bad light novel just because it has a fanbase. To be fair, I haven’t read the light novel, so I could very well be making unfair assumptions about the source material. That being said, this show is still awful. It’s probably one of the most needlessly cruel narratives I’ve seen this season, a show that hates pretty much everyone from its main protagonist to every supporting character he meets along the way. Episode 3 in particular was just painful to watch, worse than Ex-Arm and Tesla Note combined purely due to its content.
SHIKIZAKURA (HiDive) (first ep cheat link here)
Mike’s thoughts (3 eps deep): Just to set the record straight, I don’t hate ALL anime that use CG animation. Shikizakura may not be perfect, but the one thing it excels at better than the other two major examples is staging incredible action sequences. The Oni are a little generic looking, and are mostly just used as cannon fodder for our heroes, but so far I’m into this story, and I want to see where these characters’ arcs are headed.
THE WORLD’S FINEST ASSASIN GETS REINCARINATED (Crunchyroll)
Mike’s thoughts (3 eps deep): Regardless of my thoughts on the series itself, this anime perfectly demonstrates the reason why we have implemented the 3 episode minimum for this podcast. Sometimes you can get the gist of the story within the first episode, while other times the set up takes a little longer. In this case, what we have is an isekai that starts off VERY differently from what I assume will be the rest of the series. The end of episode 1 and the first half of episode 2 transitions this show from a dark assassin thriller to a more fantasy setting. I don’t love this, and I was REALLY turned off by the gruesome ending to episode 3, but I could potentially see the appeal for the premise.
RUMBLE GARANNDOLL (Funimation)
Mike’s thoughts (3 eps deep): I won’t lie and say this one was perfect, but there’s something completely unhinged about Rumble Garanndoll that I just fell in love with. What we have here is essentially a love letter to mecha and tokusatsu, with a little bit of commentary on nostalgia thrown in the mix. With a little more polish, this could be for mecha what KonoSuba was for isekai.
BANISHED FROM THE HERO’S PARTY, I DECIDED TO LIVE A QUIET LIFE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE (Funimation)
Mike’s thoughts (3 eps deep, DUB): Episode 3 so far is the only one that lays on the fanservice a little too thick, but it’s never a big enough distraction to take away from the overall positives radiating off of this series. Yes, this is based on a light novel, but it’s the kind of fantasy anime where I actually like at least most of the characters and want to see them succeed. Mixing slice of life with other genres isn’t always guaranteed to work, but I welcome each and every attempt to do so.
MUTEKING: THE DANCING HERO (Funimation)
Mike’s thoughts (3 eps deep): The reason I had never heard of the original anime Muteking, The Dashing Warrior, is because it failed to launch in the US. But after watching the first couple episodes of the reboot, I must make it my mission to seek out the rest of this franchise! I love how, stylistically, this anime feels like something that belongs in the 80’s, but with a few modern touches. I love the characters, I love this over the top world, and I love the tokusatsu-inspired fight scenes we see at the end of each episode. Muteking: The Dancing Hero is such a delight, and comes highly recommended!
THE FARAWAY PALADIN (Crunchyroll)
Mike’s thoughts (2 eps deep, DUB): Of all the fantasy shows I’ve seen this season, this one probably has the most intriguing narrative. It might seem like a weird comparison, but something about the educational element in this anime reminds me a lot of Disney’s The Sword in the Stone. While we never get to see Will’s previous life, it’s still satisfying to see him taking in all this new information. The cast for the English dub is terrific, featuring great voice actors such as Erica Mendez, Kirk Thorton and Veronica Taylor. If you’re looking for a more wholesome fantasy anime that isn’t afraid to dwell in the darkness, The Faraway Paladin might just be for you.
RANKING OF KINGS (Funimation)
Mike’s thoughts (3 eps deep, DUB): And so, we’ve saved the best for last. Ranking of Kings might just be the most unique anime of the season, if not the entire year. Stylistically, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before, at least not in anime. The character designs feel more western influenced, but I have to imagine this was a deliberate choice to catch the audience off guard. There are so many layers to this series, from Prince Boji’s character arc, to the politics of this kingdom, to the surprisingly endearing friendship between Boji and Kage, voiced in the English dub by the YouTuber SungWon Cho! I don’t want to say anymore, other than go watch this ASAP!
TAKT OP. DESTINY (Crunchyroll)
Mike’s thoughts (3 eps deep): Literally the one thing that stops this series from being perfect is a rather sloppily executed story structure. Other than that, the core premise has me hooked! Set in the distant future, the world is threatened by monsters called D2’s, who hate the sound of music produced by humans. I don’t think I need to explain why this show is my jam, but I will say that if any anime was basically daring itself to be adapted into live action, it’s one that’s primarily set in the US. Because this is a Mappa and Madhouse collaboration, of course the animation is going to be incredible. These are some of the coolest action sequences I’ve seen so far this season, and I look forward to exploring more of this world.
Well, that’ll do wrap this long saga of anime! Special thanks to Cameron for editing this episode, as well as Teresa and Haley for joining our animation amigos! Hang the stockings high, and leave a plate of cookies and milk out, because you can expect a new podcast real soon…
